Moon’s Labyrinths (Web Novel)

“It seems you’ve made your decision.”

The hooded man laughed.

“Yes. The only thing left in my heart is malice. I can only take revenge now.”

“That’s good! Revenge and malice! That’s what a man should say! I really like it!”

The hooded man clapped his hands.

“How are you planning on helping me, and why don’t you take off your hood? We're riding the same boat now.”

“Ah. That won’t be possible.”

The hooded man shook his hand to dismiss the idea.

“I’m the revenge fairy who’ll help you get what you want. If the identity of the fairy is exposed, it'll break children's hearts.”

Jaeho’s eyes narrowed. It was obvious that the hooded man was trying to use him. If he were the Jaeho from before, he would have ignored this unknown fairy. But his heart burned from anger now.

‘I don’t care about anything else if I can get my revenge.’

“Alright, Mr. so-called Fairy. If you can provide me a way to fuck over those bastards, I won’t ask who you are. You can be the tinker bell or the lamp genie for all I care.”

“As expected, you are wise!”

“Stop spouting nonsense. Just tell me the plan.”

Jaeho became insistent.

“I hope it's a viable method. Woo Sungyoon is a very powerful Connector, so a normal method won’t cut it.”

“I have a really great adage for this situation.”

The hooded man unfurled an index finger.

“There is no hero that can survive being ganged up.”

Jaeho’s face crumpled.

“Are you suggesting I hire gangsters and bullies to beat him?”

“Hey, Friend, the strategy works only if the hero is around the same level as his antagonists. It would be meaningless to throw a hundred worms on a lion.”

Thankfully, the hooded man wasn’t suggesting something impossible, so Jaeho’s expression relaxed a bit.

“Then what do you mean?”

“Ganged up... Ah. I guess it was a poor choice of words. Should I say teaming up? Of course, we have to bring in strong Connectors to face Woo Sungyoon.”

“Where the hell will I find such Connectors?”

Even the Connectors visiting the Beginner’s Labyrinth made more money than most salaried workers on Earth. Of course, these Connectors lived a barebone lifestyle on the Moon, but they still wouldn’t risk committing a crime on Earth.

“That is why I’m here.”

Jaeho saw the lips of the hooded man curl up.

“I’ll pull some strings for you. You’ll have the Connectors you’ve always wanted.”

Jaeho’s expression changed.

“How good are they?”

“They'll be able to use their abilities on Earth.”

“How many?”

“Five.”

Jaeho pondered the matter. Although he had run a company that processed moonstones, he was ignorant when it came to knowledge about Connectors. The Moon was unforgiving, and Armstrong city boasted insane prices. It was an unapproachable place for a normal person, which meant a vast majority of the information regarding Connectors were unknown to the public.

“Will they be able to get rid of Woo Sungyoon?”

“No. It’ll be impossible for them.”

“… Are you playing with me?”

The hooded man had worked Jaeho up, yet failed to deliver. So Jaeho’s anger raged like a fire.

“Hey, calm down. As I’ve said before, I have a grudge against him too. If I could kill him with the people I have, why would I try to bring you in?”

“… You want something from me?”

“I do.”

The hooded man took a step closer to Jaeho.

“You were friends with Woo Sungyoon. Am I right?”

“I only pretended to be his friend.”

“That doesn’t matter. You were indeed very close to him for a long time. Then you must know his weakness, right?”

Weakness. The image of a small girl passed through Jaeho's mind, and a bloody smile made its way to his face.

“I do.”

“That's what I like to hear.”

A bloody smile also appeared on the lips of the hooded man.

“The plan is for you to attack him at his weak point. You can attack that weak point with the Connectors that I’ll loan you out. How about it?”

“… Do you think it’ll work?”

Once the hooded man started laying out the details of the plan, Jaeho became a bit skittish. The hooded man felt Jaeho's hesitation, and his lips distorted.

“What? Are you already afraid? Is that all your desire for revenge worth? Look back at all the humiliation you’ve faced. How can you hesitate? Is this what the pride of the great Lee Jaeho is worth? If so, give up now!”

These words sent Jaeho thinking about the incidents that had impacted him; the moonstone industry being thrown into chaos, Jungbum stopping the supplies of moonstones to his company, the fall of Gagarin·Yang city, and the final blow, the lawsuit.

Murderous intent burned in his eyes once again.

“No. I can't forget.”

“Attaboy! I knew I was right to believe in you!”

In a flash, the hooded man changed his attitude. In some ways, Jaeho felt as if the hooded man was making fun of him, and it made him upset. However, those emotions went away when he heard the hooded man’s next words.

“You probably prefer ending his life with your own hands, right? This fairy will give you one more present.”

The hooded man rummaged through his bag.

“Did you do your military service?”

“That's for people with no money and no political backing. Why would I serve in the military?”

“Koo-ooh! That’s right! You don’t have to go through the same experience as the bottom feeders! Although even if you had gone to the army, you wouldn’t have been able to shoot this.”

The hooded man handed Jaeho a box. The box felt heavy in his hands, and Jaeho opened it.

“This is….”

Jaeho saw a pistol with a silver sheen inside. It felt as if the pistol would pierce through his heart that instant. He took out the pistol and felt a tingling sensation in his hand.

“I made some modifications, but it's a normal gun. The crucial thing is this...”

The hooded man pointed to the bullets inside the box.

“These bullets are made out of Mana-Knight.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be used against monsters?”

The news reported them as weapons created to fight monsters. Jaeho remembered the news had created big waves when it came out.

“It was marketed like that. It is used against the monsters, but it can also damage Connectors. In fact, it works very well against the Connectors.”

Jaeho gulped. The light reflected by the bullets looked wicked.

“What do you think? I think this qualifies as a present from a fairy.”

The hooded man looked like he was really enjoying this.

***

Sungyoon’s lawsuit.

It had caused a large reaction within Korean society. The Korean public was already interested in Sungyoon's and Daesung Energy's past even before the lawsuit. The public interest had been a pressure cooker that was ready to explode, and the lawsuit had caused this detonation.

The media pounced on this opportunity. They wanted an interview or a statement from Sungyoon, and the reporters camped out in front of his house.

“I don’t like them!”

Shinhae pouted as she looked out the window. The reporters yelled all kinds of questions toward Sungyoon whenever he went out, so he had lowered his frequency of going out.

Shinhae was dissatisfied with this. She rarely saw her father, so she wanted to visit and play at various locations with him whenever he was on Earth. But the people outside were getting in her way this time.

“Dad feels the same way.”

Sungyoon hugged Shinhae.

“Can’t you chase them away?”

“Those ahjussi are doing their work. If they don’t, their family will starve.”

“Oooooh! Ok. It can’t be helped!”

Shinhae scrunched up her face.

“My daughter is so kind!”

Sungyoon patted Shinhae's back as he hugged her. Soon, her small arms encircled his neck. Sungyoon moved around the living room with Shinhae in his arms, but he looked uncomfortable.

‘That bastard has no scruples when he's cornered. The probability of him attacking Shinhae is high.’

Anyone close to Sungyoon knew Shinhae was his weak spot. Jaeho had been his best friend for a long time, so of course, he knew it too. Jaeho had fallen from grace, and the probability of him doing something extreme was low. However, humans were unpredictable creatures.

The prime example of this theory was Sungyoon.

‘I’ll have to stick close to Shinhae for a while.’

Sungyoon continued to ignore calls from Armstrong city, which wanted him to return to the Moon. Murderous intent started to flow within Sungyoon’s eyes. He wouldn’t forgive anyone who dared to mess with his daughter, no matter who it was.

***

It had been a long time since Miyun had felt so comfortable.

She had received twenty million dollars. Even after giving ten million to her father’s company to help them stay afloat, she still had ten million left. Her ecstatic self went over how to spend the money.

“You did really well!”

As Miyun's family dined at an expensive restaurant, Miyun’s mother praised her daughter.

“It felt awesome seeing that ungrateful bastard fall from grace. It felt so good.”

Jaeho had cut all ties with her husband's company. From her family’s perspective, Jaeho deserved everything that had happened to him. They had forgotten that they had worked with Jaeho to push Sungyoon into a pit of despair.

“That bastard is done. He bankrupted Daesung Energy. He won’t be given a second chance. That young bastard acted so arrogantly, and he deserves what he got.”

It had been a while Miyun’s father could be free from worries. He had enough funds now, and the person he hated had fallen from grace. It had sent him on cloud nine.

The jovial mood lasted for a while as the family members conversed with each other. However, Miyun’s mother disrupted the good mood.

“So, what happened to your husband, Mr. Woo?”

Miyun lost all appetite. She let out a sigh before speaking.

“Stop it, Mom. It really is over between the two of us. We won’t get back together.”

“Why not! Whose daughter is Shinhae? A child should be raised by her biological parents! I’m sure your husband is interested in getting back together! The proof is the twenty million dollars he gave you! That’s not a small amount! He still has feelings for you, Dummy!”

Miyun’s mother pounded her chest when Miyun kept silent.

“Aigo! What am I supposed to do with my stupid daughter? Do you realize how much your husband is worth? What will you do if some other woman takes it? If we have his money, your father’s company will never have to struggle in the future!”

“That’s right. Your mother has a point.”

Miyun's father had been quiet up until that point, but he agreed with his wife now. This further emboldened Miyun’s mother.

“Was it Jungbum or something like that? What was the name? Hahn Jimin? She looked so vicious on TV. I’m sure she has a bad temper. What if your husband gets together with that woman?”

Hahn Jimin. Miyun felt uncomfortable hearing that name. Sungyoon had always shown up to their meetings with Hahn Jimin, and Miyun could tell something serious was going on between the two. Miyun didn’t know if Sungyoon was interested in Jimin, but she was sure Jimin was interested in Sungyoon.

“Stop talking about that!”

In the end, Miyun raised her voice. They were dining in a private room in a restaurant, so she didn't have reservations about yelling.

“Aigo! I’m only saying this so that you can have a bright future! Stop taking my words the wrong way! Kill your temper! Anyway, you should go meet Woo Sungyoon with a gift in hand! If you don’t go, I will!”

Miyun silently sliced her meat. Her mother wanted to say more, but her father stopped his wife. However, her father agreed with her mother, and it frustrated Miyun to no end.

This was how the troubled dinner came to an end, and they got in their car to head back home. They reached their neighborhood that had very low traffic.

“Uh uh uh?”

Suddenly, Miyun’s father sounded flustered. At the same time, their bodies lurched forward within the car.

Ggee-eeeeeeek!

The sound of the tires causing friction against the road rang out, and a long skid mark appeared as the car came to a stop.

“Hey. You crazy son of a bitch!”

Miyun’s father opened the window and cussed. After righting her body, Miyun looked forward and saw a person standing in front of the car. It seemed her father had pressed on the brake because of this man.

Miyun’s father kept cussing, but the man in front of the car didn't move.

“Get out of the way right now!”

Did his yelling have an effect? The man started to move, but unlike what Miyun’s family had expected, he wasn’t getting out of the way. He walked up next to the driver’s seat.

“Wh-what the hell!”

Miyun’s father trembled.

He quickly closed the car window. Since no one was blocking the car, he planned on driving away.

Kwah-jee-jeek!

“Ah-ahk!”

However, the man ripped the door away from the driver’s seat. Miyun’s family screamed. The man then stuck his head into the car and looked around. His gaze landed on Miyun, and he spoke.

“I found you.”

His smile was the scariest smile that Miyun had ever seen, and she shuddered.